Chelsea Handler tears up as she talks about election

Chelsea Handler is still reeling from Hillary Clinton’s election loss to Donald Trump on Tuesday night, and in Wednesday’s episode of Netflix’s Chelsea, she dropped the jokes and held back tears as Sen. Barbara Boxer stopped by for a pep talk.

“Like a lot of people in this country, I’m sad, I’m disappointed, and I’m confused, but if Hillary can make it through a concession speech, then I can make it through a stupid television show,” Handler said.

Boxer, a Senator from California, admitted she was disappointed, too, but that disappointment was no excuse to stop trying. “My heart’s on the floor, and I think the first thing to do when something like this happens is admit that,” Boxer said. “A lot of us are on the ground right now. But I have lived a little bit longer than you and the audience here, and I have learned how painful politics can be. But that doesn’t mean you run away. It means you pick yourself up, as the president said, and you fight even harder for your country, because it’s ours.”

The election was a personal one for Boxer, as her daughter Nicole is married to Clinton’s youngest brother, Tony Rodham. When Handler asked if Boxer had spoken to Clinton yet, she said she had not, as she has too much to say and needs time to think it over. Boxer also comforted Handler with her own stories of her ascent into politics, and the criticisms and sexism she faced along the way.

“We are tested every day, Chelsea,” she told a visibly upset Handler. “This is a huge test for America. I want to thank you for what you did. The millennials voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton. And that’s the future, isn’t it?”

Boxer was referring to Handler’s work with Rock the Vote, a non-profit aimed at getting young voters to the polls. Handler said that the organization registered nearly 7,000 unregistered voters this election.

“I know as a woman, it feels so sexist,” Handler said, apologizing as she began to cry. “I guess the message that I want to spread out to other women is to not give up because this is so important. It’s easy to throw in the towel and say that we’re gonna leave, or I’m gonna move to Spain. Because I want to move to Spain, I really, really want to move to Spain right now.”

The two briefly quipped back and forth about Trump’s wrongdoings, but ultimately chose to focus on the positives and the steps Americans can take to move forward.

“I want to be hopeful,” Handler said. “I have to be hopeful, we all have to be hopeful about what possible good could come from it.”

Watch the full video below.